The house we are staying in we are sharing with 5 - 6 people and it comes with all the mod cons with the best thing about it being that it's only 5 mins walk from the slopes. Perfect.
Whistler is very different from the resorts you find in Europe. There are 2 huge mountains here, Whistler and Blackcomb, with a purpose built village at the base. The difference is that the village has a much more familiar feel about it. I know that sounds so English, but if you are here for 5 months, it's nice to be able to grab a Starbucks, a McDonalds or a Domino's Pizza when you feel the urge.
There is a huge bar scene here too, which again is different from Tignes. In France the bars are small and you are able to strike a rapport with the owners and bar staff, but the bars here are the same size as you'd expect to get in Manchester or London. It does mean, however, that there are some great parties and some electric atmospheres!
But we have come mainly for the snowboarding, which has been excellent so far. One thing that is huge here is the HeliSkiing and Cat Skiing. This is where you get taken to a different mountain where there is no resort or ski lift and the company you use either takes you up the mountain in a helicopter or a Snow Cat. This means you get fresh, untracked powder all day long, and because there were only 12 of us on the mountain on the day we did it, we managed to get 9 beautiful runs in! There was a dump of snow the previous night which meant we were riding on 30cms of fresh powder. Overall, one of the best day's boarding I have ever had.
There are 1000's of Australians here in Whistler, which meant Ozzie day here is one of the highlights of the drinking calender. The place to be on this day is Longhorns Saloon, located at the base of Whistler mountain. Ozzies are queuing up from 8am, and are mostly drunk. Andy, Pezza, Paulie and Karen had scheduled their trip to see Cazzie and I so that it coincided with Ozzie day. All dressed up, we arrived at Longhorns at 1.30pm and walked into the expected carnage. Everyone was in full Ozzie gear, totally smashed and dancing to the plagiaristic Men at Work, John Farnham and Midnight Oil. All the pics from when the guys where here are here.
Another great tradition here is Superbowl Sunday, which means sitting in Tapleys Sports Bar and getting very, very drunk. During this sporting spectacular, I invented "shot pot", which involved putting $20 each into a pint glass and every time there is a touchdown, the waitress brings over shots for us all of her choice and takes the cash out of the pot. Genius. The pics are all here.
The Winter Olympic circus has rolled into town now which last for 2 weeks. Whistler is a host city for the Vancouver 2010 games, with events such as the downhill (the main event), bobsleigh, ski jumping and alpine skiing taking place here. The village has been transformed by the media with huge TV screens, broadcasting booths and music stages. There are performances every afternoon and evening with acts such as Usher, Estelle and The All American Rejects playing. It's going to be a great place to be for the next 2 weeks and there is a terrific buzz about the place.
Overall, this is a great ski resort. The snow was better in Tignes last season, but Whistler has the whole package if you include the restaurants, bars, shops and nightlife.
As I write this, there is a fresh storm cycle starting, which means we should be waking upto 25cms of fresh powder!!
Stuoobs
xxx
